Power-transmission device.



G. "s. WELSH & 2. H. LONG.

POWER TRANSMISSION DEVIGE.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 28, 1909.

Patented Aug. 16, 1910;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

G. s. WELSH & 2:. H. LONG.

POWER TRANSMISSION DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 28, 1909.

T Patented Aug. 16, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SQEET 2.

A? 1 amen/ho as Slime/1 UNITED STATES? ATNT FFIGE.

GEORGE S. WELSH AND ZOURIE H. LONG, F WILKES-BARBIE, PENNSYLVANIA.

POWER- TRANSMISSION DEVICE.

' To all it may concern."

Be it known that we, GEoReE S. WELSH and ZouRrnH. LONG, citizens of the United 5 such proportions that the same may be con- States, residing at Wilkes-Barre, in the county'of Luzerne and State of Pennsyl- Vania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Power-Transmission Devices, of which the following is a specification,',-reference being had'to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates tocertain new and tion power of the automobile for operating an air pump whereby the vehicle tires may be readily inflated. a

Another object is to providea very simple device 'ofthe above character which is of veniently carried on the machine and comprises'a base having rollers ournaled thereon upon which the rear driving wheel of the motor vehicle is adapted to be positioned, the shaft on one of said rollers being connected to. the main shaftof the air pump and adapted to. transmit the rotative movement imparted to the" rollers through the drive wheelto' the air pump, said pump bcing adapted to have a flexible hose connected thereto and to the tube valve of the tire.

further object, is to provide means whereby the automobile wheel may be readily positioned upon the rollers journaled upon the supporting base of rigid and substantial construction.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts,hereinafter fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichv Figure 1 is a side elevation of a' device constructed in accordance with" our invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan' view thereof; Fig. 3 is a front end elevation, and Fig. i is a similar view illustrating a slightly'modified form of the device showing a means forre ducing the speed of the pump shaft.

Referring more particularly to the drawin'gs 5 indicates a base which ispreferably formed of hardened steel or aluminum and,

comprises the parallel side bars 6, the lower edges of which are disposed above theplane of the bottom of the end portions of the base,

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed 0ctober'28, 1909. Serial No. 525,069.

Patented Aug. 16, 1910.

The forward ends of the side bars (3 have their upper edges downwardly and forwardly inclined, as shown at 8, and a heavy transverse plate 9 is integrally formed there with to provide an inclined surface. The rear ends of the side bars 6 are extended above and below the edges thereof to provide the enlarged end portions which are likewise connected by an integral transverse plate 10 wliichcurves rearwardly between its upper and lower ends.

\Vhilea supporting base of the above form is deemed preferable for the purposes in view, it will be obvious that various minor changes may be made in the construction of this base "to meet the varied requirements which devolve upon a device of this character. The form shown however, is believed to be the best adapted for general use and may be produced at a vei'y noderate cost.

Rollers 11 are disposed between the front and rear ends of the side bars 6, and have rigidly engaged therein and centrally extending beyond their opposite ends, the shafts 12. These shafts are journaled in bearings 13, which may be of'any preferred form other than that illustrated in the drawin s.

t will be noted from reference to Fig. 2 that the rear roller 11 is of somewhat greater diameter than the forward roller and is disposed above the horizontal plane of the latter. The peripheriesof each of these rollers is concave or conically formed upon opposite sides of the longitudinal centers thereof. Thus the periphery of each end-of the rollers is inclined and converges -1nwardly toward the center thereof which provides a roller gradually decreasing in cross sectional area from its ends to its center. By such a construction the resultant friction due to the contact of the periphery of the drive wheel with the periphery of the rollers is reduced to a minimum, while the increased diameter of the rear roller which carries the power shaft and receives the greater amount of this friction, allows for considerable wear of the roller without greatly impairing the efficiency of the device. 5 These rollers would preferably be formed of hard wood so that they could readily be replaced at a trifling expense,

" 'a flexible tube rollerwlltis provided with a clutch head 14 which is preferably detachable therefrom and is ada'ptedto have locking engagement with a similar head 14' carried upon the extremity of the pump shaft 15. This shaft extends into the pump casing 16 and is adapted to operate the fans or other pumping mechanism contained therein. As the detailed construction of, this pump forms no part of our present invention, the same will not here be set forth in detail. It will suffice to -'say;that the pump is provided with the usual airoutlet 17, to which the end of (not shown) is adapted to be connected, the other end of said tube being threaded upon the valve nipple commonly seenin' motor vehicle tires to convey the air discharged from the pump to the inner tube whereby the same may be rapidly inflated in a much more eflicient manner and with the utilization of considerabl less power than is possible with devices of this character as previously constructed.

" 'of the machine may now be tread.

:In'the operation of the device, the supporting base 5 is positioned under one of the rear wheels of the automobile or other drivingvehicle, the forward inclined end thereof being positioned centrally beneath the tire Upon the reversal of the transmission gearin of the machine, the drive wheel will move forwardly and upwardly on the base 5 and be positioned upon the peripheries of'the friction rollers 11. The motor operated at full speedifdesired, and upon the rotation of the drive wheel rotary motion will be transmitted through the rear roller 11 and the power shaft 12 to the shaft 15 of the air pump,"whereu pon the air will be forced therefrom through the flexbile connecting tube into the inner tire tube. By providing rollers-having concaved eripheries, two separate bearing points of the tire tread thereon are secured, one upon each side of theplongitudinal center of the rollers. As the rear roller' is positioned on a higher plane above the base than the forward roller, the greatest weight of the machine will be sustained thereby and consequently the frictional engagement between said roller and the vehicle wheel will also be greater. It isi-forthis reason that the rear roller is heavier than the forward roller. Such a construction also has the additional advan- ;have. provided tage that if the energy of the motor is at a low-ebb, it will require but a small fraction of its remaining power to operate the air pump, the roller being constructed of its firm frictional engagement with the tread of the drive wheel.

From the foregoing it will be seen that we a power transmission device whichis peculiarly adapted for the purposes .aboveoutlined, and is of such construction thatth'e full power of the motor of the vehiwhere the eevgew cle may be utilized when it is desired to very quickly inflate the wheel tires 1n cases of emergency.

The device is designed with a view to suetaining the highest power motor veh cles without affecting its efficiency and operation. The speed of the operation of the pump may be regulated by the regulation of the motor of the machine.

It will be noted from Fig. 3 that a base plate 18 is bolted or otherwise secured to one side of the base 5, upon which the pump is mounted. This base plate is provided for the purpose of elevating the pump so that its shaft will be disposed in longitudinal alinement with the power shaft of the rear roller 11. It also provides a firm level base for the ump, which as will be obvious may not at all times be found upon the roadways device'may be used.

In Fig. 4 there is shown a slightly modified form of means fortransmitting the power from the roller shaft to the pump shaft. In this construction the revolutions of the shaft 12 is imparted to the pump shaft in reduced ratio through the pinion 19 and the gear 20 which are secured upon the ends of the respective shafts. If desired, this gear and pinion may be removable from their shafts so that others of varying diameters may be placed thereon and the roportionape speed of said shafts regulate as may be ound desirable.

By the-use of the device above described it is unnecessary to jack up or elevate the rear end of the vehicle as is necessary with other devices of this character whereby the power may be taken from the drive wheel, as the rollers are adapted to sustain the rear end of the machine, as well as to transmit power from the rotating drive wheel. As

few elements are employed in its construction, it will be obvious that the cost of manufacture is thus reduced to a minimum. It

is likewise compactly arranged and may be conveniently carried on the vehicle.

While we have shown and described what we believe to be the preferable embodiment.

of our invention, it will be obvious that numerous minor modifications within the scope of the claims may be resorted to without materially departing from the essential features or sacrificing of our invention.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

any-of the advantages A device of the character described com-,

prising a supporting base consisting of par:

allel longitudinal bars, tegrally formed withsaid bars at their forward ends and inclined downwardly and outwardly between their, upper and lower a transverse plate in- 1 edges, the rear ends of said longitudinal bars 3 being enlarged and extending 'aboye the plane of their upper edges, a transverse,

sonar? plate connecting said bars at their rear ends, a friction roller mounted in bearings upon said bars at their forward ends, a friction roller mounted in bearings upon the enlarged rear ends of said bars, said last named roller being disposed above the plane of the forward roller and having its shaft extended beyond one of the side bars, each of said rollers being conically formed and converging inwardly toward its longitudinal center to provide a healing point on each side thereof, a transversely extending supporting plate secured to one of the side bars beneath the rear roller shaft, an air pump arranged upon said plate, the extended shaft of the rear roller and the shaft of the air p limp being disposed in the same transverse plane, and means cooperatively connecting said shafts, substantial y as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof We hereunto affix our signatures in the presence of two Witnesses.

- GEORGE S. WELSH.

ZOURIE H. LONG. Witnesses C. M. FORREST, M. C. LYDDANE. 

